Causes Of The Soviet-Afghan War

Iran was a major supplier of oil and in 1977, President Carter went there to celebrate the shah’s rule. This caused internal opposition against America and in 1979, a revolution ensued, over-throwing the shah and declaring Iran an Islamic republic. Because of Carter’s close relationship with the shah, he allowed him to seek medical treatment in the US. As a result of this, Khomeini, Muslim cleric who over-threw the shah, followers attacked and invaded the American embassy in Tehran, seizing 66 hostages. This directly shows that Carter’s bleeding heart policy was not always successful and led to a rapid fall in this popularity. Another failure, sometimes referred to as a greater crisis than WWII, of Carter’s foreign policy also began in 1979 and was initially seen more as America losing power because of Carter’s policy, not a direct result of anything he did. In 1979, the Soviet Union sent thousands of troops to Afghanistan to support a government threatened by an Islamic republic. In the end, Afghanistan became Soviet Vietnam, “an unwinnable conflict whose mounting causalities seriously weakened the government at home.” However, when Carter funneled aid to Muslims in Afghanistan to fight against the Soviet Union, an alliance formed that had unexpected consequences. This aid essentially helped Islamic fundamentalists, also known as the Taliban, rise to power in Afghanistan and America has been fighting them ever

The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan just to see themselves as the big “Losers” of the war. The defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan was a serious blow to the prestige of the Army, to national pride and faith in the soviet political leaders. The scars it left on many of the remaining soldiers created social and political problems. A reform of the military was necessary. In the midst of all these turmoil, “there was also corruption and inefficiency within the states bureaucracy” (p.3 smitha.com) and nothing seemed to get done. The soviet people and some Eastern European countries were fed up of all these ongoing problems the Soviet Union was facing. The soviet people were fed up with the high communist party which stood ground and dominated the entire soviet politics, as this was the only party in the states since Stalin’s regime. The party had become rigid and corrupt which discouraged younger party members who saw little chance of advancement. At this stage corruption was the order of the soviet system of government which buoyed lack of commitment to the government.

When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan on December 1979, the goal was to help Afghan communist forces set up a communist government. The Soviet Union felt Afghanistan had key resources and a foothold in the Middle East to spread communist ideas. The result would be a war that the Soviet Union wishes it never got involved in and likened to their “Vietnam War”, meaning winning a number of battles but not the war like what happened to the U.S. in Vietnam. The background of the war, outcome of the war, and impact on the United States are key to understanding the Soviet-Afghan War.

For the past 13 years the United States has been involved in the Afghanistan war, and the reasons for the continuation of the Afghanistan war are very blurry. Not only are the reasons for the United States to fight the war blurry, but it seems the the cost vs. benefit of fighting the war do not equal. Only

But opposition intensifies with various mujahideen groups fighting Soviet forces. US, Pakistan, China, Iran and Saudi Arabia supply money and arms to the mujahideen. 1985 - Mujahideen come together in Pakistan to form alliance against Soviet forces. Half of Afghan population now estimated to be displaced by war, with many fleeing to neighbouring Iran or Pakistan. 1986 - US begins supplying mujahideen with Stinger missiles, enabling them to shoot down Soviet helicopter gunships.

Reagan helped create the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden by secretly training and funding Islamist mujahidin fighters in Afghanistan, and also armed the fighters with weapons and top-secret intelligence from Pakistani services. The mujahidin fighters were originally trained to fight against the Soviet Union, led by their commander Osama Bin Laden, in a proxy war. Reagan wanted to continue the proxy war but the Soviet Union

In 1979, the USSR took control of the Afghan capital, Kabul, and tried to gain control over the whole country and its people. The invasion was a failure, costing thousands of lives and having serious consequences.

When the soviet union invaded afghanistan the war lasted for 9 years 1979-1989. Between 1 million to 1.5 million people were killed in that war and millions of people when to a diffrent countries such as pakistan or iran as refugees. The United States supported Afghanistan by supplying arms to the Mujahadeen. Ronald Reagan sent billions of dollars to the Mujahadeen so he can help Jihad against the Soviet Union. “Reagan believed this defense shield could make nuclear war impossible. Reagan deployed CIA special activities division paramilitary officers to train, equip and lend the Mujahideen battalion against the Soviet army”. Reagan’s objective was winning the Cold War and the rollback of communism. The United States also offered financial and

To begin, Mujahidin was a rebel group during the 1980s that Ronald Reagan had funded. During the war the United States gave financial as well as military assistance to Mujahidin (Davis Moorhead). A reason why the U.S. helped Mujahidin was because of the relationship that they had with Great Britain. The Soviets had supported the Afghanistan government and Britain was also supporting the Mujahidin (Davis Moorhead). The main reason why the U.S. got involved was to support Mujahidin with military support. Mujahidin had then lead to the well know terrorist group

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan- In 1979, the USSR invaded Afghanistan to support the communist government in Afghanistan against noncommunist guerillas supported by the Americans and West. The war began when the USSR began land reforms that were resented by many people, which The war dragged on, costing thousands of Soviet lives despite the fact that the Soviet troops were not able to achieve their objectives, hence the reason why the war was called “Russia’s Vietnam.” Osama bin Laden was among the anti-Communist guerillas and would later lead the terrorist organization that orchestrated the 9/11 attacks.

The situation in Afghanistan actually began in 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded their country. The United States funded money to the "mujahedin," or holy warriors, in the name of stopping communism. From this support, Afghanistan was able to defeat the Soviet Union in 1989. Yet the country became very unstable after the war. Political power was fluctuating often and leaders came in and out of power rapidly. Farmers resorted to growing many drugs such as poppies and marijuana and sold them around the globe. Cities were annihilated. Over five million Afghanis fled to other countries in search of a better life. When the Afghanis turned to the United States for help in rebuilding our country, we refused. This caused great anger amongst the Afghani people directed toward the United States. This also lead to Mullah Mohammod Omar, the current leader of Afghanistan, to form a ground of men to "rebuild" his country. They are now known as the Taliban. Omar's personal description is, "A simple band of dedicated youths determined to establish the laws of God on

As Russian forces pushed into Afghanistan seeking to conquer the nation, spread communism, and secure oil routes, the United States suspected Russia may be successful in its conquest. Moreover, President Carter’s administration took notice and produced presidential findings, allowing the United States to indirectly and mildly support Mujahidin rebel forces, who sought to confront the Russian forces and win back Afghanistan. President Carter utilizing the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) funneled small weapons and funding to associates within the Pakistan intelligence community who in turn provided the items to the rebel forces (Coll

Similar to other countries President Reagan was helping fight the Soviets by providing the guerrillas with an extensive amount of military assistance in their fight against the invading Soviets. In part due to the financial, weapons and military training support from America the Afghan rebels were able to eventually defeat the Soviet Union’s military. Some critics are criticizing President Reagans doctrine and claim that in no way did it help the situation in Afghanistan, many of them claim that it was an epic failure. Others believe the doctrine was instrumental in helping bring an end to communism. One specific advantage that has been credited to the doctrine was “the lack of direct involvement of American troops, which allowed the United States to confront Soviet allies without sustaining casualties” (Reagan Doctrine, 2014). In addition it has been argued that it was President Reagan’s pursuit of the Strategic Defense Initiative that bankrupted the Kremlin leadership, prompting a liberalization of the Soviet political economy that brought down the entire

In the night of July 17th, 1973, the Afghanistan monarchy was cleaved, but it was in April, 1978 when communism really took over Afghanistan. When this happened, Amir was only a small child. His father, Baba smuggled them both out of Afghanistan and into America. Not too soon after, Amir graduated high school and became a writer. After marrying and releasing his first book, Amir comes to us today to describe his transition to America.

The worst case scenario for the United States in the late 70s and early 80s was the threat of the Soviet invasion of Iran and subsequent control of the Saudi Oil fields. The best that could be done to counter a possible Soviet invasion would have been the deployment of parts of the 82nd Airborne Division to the Zagros Mountains of Iran, which would take at least a week with reinforcements arriving much later. This was not acceptable to the Carter Administration, which decided on another course of action - to actively support the anti-Soviet Mujahideen “freedom - fighters” in Afghanistan and help protect the Middle Eastern oil fields. This American involvement in the Soviet Afghan war has